The Girl Who Dreamed
by 221BiggerOnTheInside
Summary: Lottie Gray has been having dreams about a Time Lord in a blue box for as long as she could remember. But what happens when the man in her dreams appears outside her house on a perfectly normal day? As if things weren't already strange, what happens when he doesn't know who she is? How can she know him so well in her dreams, when he doesn't even know her name? How can he be real?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first Doctor Who fanfic. ****I've used my OC in this one, who's fourteen.** Please post a review and let me know what you think, and how I could improve? Thankssss :)

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_"Hello, there," the Doctor greeted warmly, a huge child-like grin upon his face. He hopped out of the TARDIS with a little skip, and spun around to lean back against the front of the box. _

_Lottie jumped up instantly from the soft green grass she was lying upon as she was watching the clouds, and swiveled around on her heels to face the man all dressed in tweed, straightening his bow tie. She couldn't help smiling back at him. _

_"Hope you're not busy," he continued, glancing around the empty park, as if he was searching for something around that could possibly be taking up the little girl's time. "So, fancy a trip around the universe?" _

_Lottie's smile grew bigger, and she was forced to bite down on her bottom lip to stop herself from beaming like a fool. The doctor's grin faded in an instant, replaced by a fearful look of worry, and his eyes were fixed on something behind her. _

_"Doctor? What is it?"_

_"Run!" he yelled._

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Little Charlotte woke up in a cold sweat, her heart beating violently in her chest, and her head pounding. Her hands were shaking as she pulled her duvet up towards her face for safety, and held on tightly to her teddy bear, as if it would protect her from the monsters. They were not the sort of monsters children fear lie under their beds at midnight, or hide in their wardrobes, waiting silently to attack them in their nightmares. The monsters Lottie feared were much worse, and much more real. Stone statues of crying angels, robots screaming 'Exterminate', aliens, and steel giants - they were just a few. But the one person who was always there to save her from the monsters was a madman in a blue phone-box, who called himself the Doctor. He was a constant thought circling through her mind, a memory of the dreams that never went away. He didn't leave her head, no matter how much she tried to rid herself of the dreams. But these dreams were some she couldn't forget, no matter how much she tried; but Lottie's Timelord was always there when she needed him.

_10 years later..._

"Charlotte! I hope you're awake!" Mum called from downstairs.

Lottie rubbed her tired eyes as she reluctantly began to crawl away from the comfort of her warm bed. She hated the fact that even on a Saturday her mother forced her to get up early, or a 'decent hour' as she called it. But eight o'clock in the morning certainly wasn't something Lottie called a decent hour. It was more like an early start to her. But she would never object, as tired as she may be.

"You're missing breakfast!" Mum shouted again.

Lottie merely sighed, and gave her thick, chestnut brown hair one final tug with her hairbrush. She checked herself in the mirror briefly. Her frizzy, curly hair was still sticking up in all directions, and she hated it with a passion, but she couldn't do anything about it, unfortunately. She staggered down the stairs in her red and white pyjamas, heading towards the kitchen, the warm smell of sizzling bacon and burnt toast wafting through the whole house. Lottie's house wasn't very big, though. It was small, cramped, stuck between two bigger houses, and sat in the middle of an almost unrecognizable street in the corner of London, but it was perfect for Lottie and her family. They'd lived there for as long as she could remember, and she had never been anywhere else.

Lottie entered their small, cozy kitchen, hopping up onto a free seat at the breakfast bar. They owned an open kitchen, with all their counter tops, tables and chairs painted a smooth beige. The mild morning sun shone it's light brightly through the window above the counter. The kitchen was rather plain and a bit boring, but she knew nothing different.

"Good morning," she greeted her mother fondly, who was standing by the window, fussing over the mountain of washing up that had been dumped in the sink.

"You look like an escapee from the Lion King!" she exclaimed, jokingly. Lottie chuckled halfheartedly, attempting in vain to flatten down her hair again. She began to boil the kettle to make herself a cup of tea.

"Did you sleep well?" Mum asked.

"Hmm, I suppose."

"Still having those dreams of yours, I presume?"

"I always have them, Mum. Every night, for years now. It would be a miracle if I didn't."

Lottie sighed again, helping herself to a piece of burnt toast which lay on a plate, and picked up the butter and a knife which had been laid out next to it. Since she was as young as four, Lottie had been haunted by these dreams. She'd never had one single night's sleep without another vivid, terrifying nightmare which would wake her up at three o'clock in the morning. Even after all these years, Lottie could still sense the worry in Mum's voice, a familiar tone to Lottie.

"Don't worry, mum. There just childish dreams that I will eventually stop having. Honestly," she reassured her mother, although she was probably trying to convince herself just as much. Thankfully her mother finally dropped the touchy subject, and began lazily heaving at the washing up.

She rapidly finished her breakfast, and rushed back upstairs to her bedroom after deciding to get ready. She jumped into the shower, and got herself dressed reasonably quickly. She threw on an old pair of ripped jeans, a blue and white striped top, and a grey jacket. She played her favourite song as she carefully put on some light make up. She had never been too fussed about make up, so a small amount was always plenty. It was no more than some mascara, really. Putting on her make up was sometimes just used as an excuse to play her favourite song as loud as her speakers could possibly make it early in the morning. Although, no complaints this morning - that was a first.

Finally somewhat content with the way she looked and ignoring the state of her bushy mane of hair, she set off back downstairs and headed into the garden, her acoustic guitar in hand. Her garden was almost as big as her house, and she adored it. It was filled with bushes which marked a clear path through it, odd flowers were sprinkled everywhere, and a tall apple tree Lottie had had her whole life stood proudly in the corner. It was a beautiful day in the middle of Spring, and the sun's rays bounced off the ground, rapidly heating up the Earth beneath Lottie's feet. The cool grass which was dotted with dew rubbed against her bare feet and tickled her ankles. The sweet, moist smell of newly cut grass was blowing in the mild breeze, and the day was just perfect.

Under the shade of her apple tree, Lottie lay back in the long grass, beginning to play a simple tune on her guitar. She could do something a lot more complicated, but she wasn't focused - her mind was elsewhere; far away in the land of flying boxes and Timelords. If she could get her mind back to reality, it would be there. It was almost inevitable that it was being whisked away constantly.

"Ah. London...2013?" The voice was faint, but sudden, and easily recognizable. Lottie's hand almost slipped down her guitar, creating a horrible-sounding note as she jumped up from the grass, and twirled around on her toes, the grass crunching beneath, to face the direction of the voice. It was odd, she thought. She didn't remember falling asleep.

Curiously, Lottie walked up to the brick wall which outlined the perimeter of her garden. She placed an ear against it, hoping to hear the voice again. She sighed,_ nothing._ Perhaps it was just her mind playing tricks on her again. It happened a lot, anyway. Refusing to believe it and using all the strength she had, she jumped up to reach the top of the wall. After several failed attempts, her hands eventually reached, and she forcefully pulled her body up with her, using a helpful, yet tiny hole in the wall to push herself up with her foot.

She was successfully sat on the top of her wall, her legs dangling outwards, and looking out towards the rest of the world. Everything seemed too normal. The long line of identical looking houses stretched out far along the narrow street. Several people were walking down them with their children and dogs, and some with ice creams to celebrate the warm weather. Cars passed by speedily, and there was nothing different about the day at all - well, except the weather, perhaps. London hadn't had a sunny day in a while.

"You alright up there?" the voice called. Lottie's head fell down to sound of the voice. The Doctor was stood leaning against the wall beneath her, looking back up at her with questioning eyes.

Lottie smiled her usual beam, waiting for the Doctor to return it like he always did, but he just continued to look even more confused. "Doctor!" Lottie exclaimed, jumping down from the wall to the concrete ground, landing on her knees, but managed to quickly regain her balance and stand up straight to face him.

The Doctor, meanwhile, was completely and utterly confused. He'd never seen or met this young girl in his life, let alone told her a thing about him, and his eyes widened at the sound of his name from her mouth.

"Doctor? What is it?" Lottie asked with caution, worried what the reply would be this time. This was usually the part in her dream where they'd have to run. Fast.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked, but thought that quite rude, so tried changing it immediately. "How do you...know me?"

Lottie was puzzled. "You know who I am, Doctor. I've known you all my life. And, what do you mean, 'How do I know you?' This is _my_ dream!" she explained all in a rush, each word zooming into the next uncontrollably. This dream was certainly different.

"I've never met you in my life," he admitted slowly.

"Wait...what?" Lottie stepped back with caution. The same bow tie, tweed jacket and hair - there is no other Doctor, this man was her friend...or used to be.

"Your dream?" the Doctor asked, curiously.

"Yeah. They're all dreams. You're not real!"

"Aren't I?" the Doctor was only partly paying attention, but focusing more on pulling out his sonic screwdriver from inside his jacket pocket, and flipping it on so the end shone brightly in Lottie's face. Her automatic reaction was to step backwards again, staying far away from it.

"Why are you sonic-ing me?!"

The Doctor sighed and furrowed his brow, lowering his screwdriver, and tucking it back into his pocket.

"Don't tell me this is one of those...time...things, maybe?" Lottie suggested, her eyes flickering to look somewhere else down the street.

"So what happens in your dreams?" the Doctor interrupted, bending down slightly so he was eye-level with the girl.

Lottie hesitated. Had she really been forgotten? "You...you come and find me. Your stupid TARDIS comes flying and materializes in front of me. Then you tell me I can come see the universe with you, but before I can, there's always some sort of alien...robot, or angel thing who is coming up behind me, and you tell me to run." She said. Her voice varied from an angry tone, to just sounding upset.

The Doctor continued to look at her expectantly.

"That's it. Then I wake up," she clarified.

He let out a deep sigh, and stood up straight once again. This was a bigger problem that he first imagined it would be. Now, he had no choice but to take this little, vulnerable girl away with him. If he didn't, she would be in more danger than anyone else in this galaxy.

"Look," he began, placing his hands upon her shoulders firmly and looking her in the eyes. "The problem is, you have parts of my memory inside your head. Not all of it, but a great deal."

"That's why I'm always having dreams?"

"Exactly." He smiled. "That's how you know me so well. Parts of my memories, and my mind, are working along side your own, occasionally combining, or mixing themselves up. That's how it works."

This couldn't be happening, not to Lottie. The man she'd met thousands of millions of times inside her own head, is suddenly a real person who doesn't even know her name? "But...you don't know me at all?"

The Doctor's smile faded. "No. I'm afraid I don't." He whispered, sadly.

Lottie couldn't even believe it, and her eyes flickered towards the ground.

"The only reason you've even heard of me is because...somehow...I've ended up in there," he said, tapping her forehead lightly with the tip of his finger. "But that has had no effect on me."

Lottie couldn't hide the fact that she was confused and upset. She had a world of memories with this man - how could the all really...just be in her mind, if this man was real?

The Doctor stepped up slowly, releasing his grip on her shoulders, but keeping his eyes locked upon hers. "So, fancy a trip around the universe?"

Lottie finally looked back up at him, puzzled. Of course - he was still the same man, same personality...same Timelord. But Lottie was just scared it was another dream. So, she kept her eyes upon him, watching and waiting for his expression to change. But, instead of it turning into a concerned look, he just looked...disappointed.

"No?" he asked.

Lottie was stunned. "No! I mean, of course I do, I just..." she paused. "You don't even know my name anymore."

He suddenly stood up straighter, more formally. "Hello. I'm the Doctor, and you are?" he smiled, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She smirked. "Doctor who?" she replied, playing along.

"Just 'the Doctor.'" he replied casually - a usual answer he had used for so long.

"Charlotte Gray," she smiled boldly.

"Well then, Charlotte-"

"Lottie," she corrected him. "Just Lottie."

The Doctor smirked. "Well then, Just Lottie - ready to go?"

She took a deep breath, and nodded. She took his hand, and he gave her his usual child-like grin as he lead her towards the TARDIS.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Decided I might continue with this. Sorry I didn't make Lottie's age clear - she's fifteen :) Thanks so much for the reviews!**

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The Doctor took Lottie's hand warmly as they made their way towards his spaceship. Now, he'd parked it somewhere nearby, surely. He waltzed around as he usually would - acting as if he knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going, even when 90 per cent of the time that wasn't true in the slightest. His eyes darted around as he tried to retrace his steps, until finally, he managed to catch the familiar glimmer of the bluest blue, hidden behind another large house further down the street. "Ah-ha, there she is!" the Doctor exclaimed gleefully, stretching out his free arm to point towards her. Lottie turned to look in the indicated direction, and found the TARDIS in the corner of her eye.

"You usually park her closer than that," she commented.

"Bad landing," he replied casually, furrowing his brow. They neared the TARDIS, and the Doctor took out the sparkling silver key to unlock the doors. He loved this part. If, of course, it would go the same way as it usually would. This was, indeed, different than he expected. He never expected for something like this to occur, and he honestly believed that all he could do was try. Try to help her, to figure it all out. His mind being within hers was the only possible conclusion so far, the only idea he had, and it had occurred before. That was something he didn't want to think about anymore. A memory he wanted to forget. If this was the same case, it might not end well, and that was what the Doctor secretly feared. He would try, and that was all he could do.

He let a hand slip fondly down the rim of the front of the box before he turned the key in the lock, and pushed the door open. He lowered his head slightly to look at her, his smile never faltering as the door was open wide for her to enter. Charlotte took a step inside, and turned around to watch as the Doctor entered behind her. He was looking at her almost expectantly. "Any comments? Passing remarks, perhaps? Anything at all?"

Of course that was what he wanted. Lottie knew that, and all she could do was sigh, and feel somewhat guilty about it. But she convinced herself it's he who should feel guilty - for letting all this happen to her, and for leading her on, making her believe she knew him, and soon her thoughts became jumbled as guilt overwhelmed her again. "Doctor, we've had this conversation. At least, I have," she breathed.

"Oh," he muttered, darting his eyes away. "Nevermind, eh?" Lottie bit her lip, as she stepped further inside. The Doctor had swung around the railings to reach the control panel in the centre of the TARDIS. "Now!" he bellowed, suddenly cheery again. "All of time, all of space, the entire..." he flipped a switch. "UNIVERSE! Where shall we begin? What do you want to see?"

Lottie broke into a smile. It was refreshing to see him so happy, and it made her happy. "Somewhere fun! Something exciting!" she replied with the same enthusiasm, as she ran around to the other side of the control panel, looking at the Doctor through the tall glass tube in the middle, which made his face look contorted, and assumed it was doing the same to hers. She laughed.

"Two different things." he pointed a finger as he corrected her.

"Are they?"

"Yes. Fun or exciting?"

"Urmm...exciting?"

He laughed excitedly. "GERONIMO!" He bellowed again, his voice echoing around the box, and with one final press of a button the TARDIS was rattling, shaking, like a huge earthquake had occurred within one box. Lottie had successfully managed to fall backwards onto the floor, but she held onto the railing at the side tightly, and realized she resembled a monkey clinging onto a branch. She must've looked ridiculous, since she heard the Doctor laugh through the vicious rumbling; it was hard to care when she was more focused on not flying backwards, into an unknown part of the box she knew to be larger than anybody could ever imagine. She was clinging to the railing so tightly she could feel her knuckles turning white. It was the kind of adrenaline you get as you drop downwards at an incredible speed upon a roller coaster; in that moment the only two thoughts that race through your mind are if you're going to make it out alive and without flying forwards in your seat, and just how fun and exciting the moment actually is. That was what the TARDIS felt like, except it was even more intense, if that is believable.

As the spaceship landed, Lottie felt the world continue to shake and move slowly around her, still not over the initial shock. It felt like that moment when you step off an airplane and the flat, solid land feels weird. She could still hear the Doctor laughing, but she just smiled, shaking it off. He walked around the panels towards her, and stretched out his arm, offering to help her up to her feet. In that moment she realized she was still clinging to the pole for dear life. She sighed in embarrassment, but reached up to take his hand gladly anyway. The Doctor pulled her up as easy as if she were another lever upon the TARDIS control panel. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Wasn't that fun? Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Top notch. Now, what do we have here, old girl?" The Doctor held on to Lottie's hand as he gently lead her out the doors of the TARDIS, and Lottie knew that they were about to enter a new, breathtaking, and intoxicating world.

They were welcomed outside by a gush of cold wind, which brushed past their faces rather harshly. But what Lottie saw was so much more beautiful than she could've ever anticipated in her lifetime. Her breath caught in a solid lump inside her throat. Beyond them in the distance was a sea of mountains, drenched in a blanket of white snow. The sleet was illuminated by the blaring planet above, creating an illusion that the mountains were adorned with crystals. These mountains were larger than any Lottie had ever seen on Earth. They were as tall as Mount Everest and far beyond. But these mountains were not as mesmerizing as what she could see where the TARDIS had landed.

It seemed to have landed in a place where the swarm of ridges fell, and there stood a hole in the ground as deep as the mountains were tall. The surrounding mass of this hole curved inwards, forming a bowl shaped dip in the valley of eminence. But this opening had not been brought into being by accident. It was very well developed, as weaving down this hole was a river. It was obvious that this was an entrance to the liquid necessary for survival which had been hidden far beneath the surface of whatever planet they were on. The river flowed quite deep down in this hole, and encircling the aperture were tall, silver grey stone rocks, which came down from the mountains like stairs. The silver grey stone was quite obviously what remained below the cloak of snow in the distance. Upon the stairs of rocks were houses, and not the usual looking, boring, square houses you see everyday upon every street in London. These houses were exquisite. They were rounded, holding dome shaped, violet blue roofs. The walls of each house was a soft shade of beige, allowing an orange glow to pass through the inside and make each house look like a firefly in the star spangled sky. Each home looked as fragile as a paper lantern, since they only obtained a secure place upon their individual rocks by thin planks of wood or twig. But they all seemed to have achieved an old age of standing firm upon their grounds. Each had a planked path leading from their doorstep, spiraling downwards in the only formation safe enough, depending upon the shape of the rock, until this path reached a platform by the river. From just one look, you could tell so much about how the people on this planet were able to live, and how they had adapted to their planet. It had all rendered Lottie speechless, and to break the stunned silence the Doctor laughed again.

"Exciting enough for you?" he teased. "Well, there's always more, but this is always a great place to visit, whatever you're looking for. Very homely looking, too. Shall we take a closer look?"

"It's just...beautiful," Lottie breathed, pulling the Doctor into a warm hug before she nodded in excitement, and he kept hold of her hand, keeping her supported as they began walking down a path. The TARDIS had landed on another rock, which was empty of a house, but the pathway leading towards the river remained.

"Are we swimming?!" Lottie asked in a sudden state of realization.

"Well we're not gonna fly over, are we?" The Doctor called back, jokingly.

"But the TARDIS- oh never mind. So what planet are we on?"

"We're on the not far away from your Solar System, actually. Not far away at all! That planet up there is Pluto," he pointed up to the only planet left in the night sky. "But obviously this is five billion years ago, it's a long time before Earth actually exists."

"Who lives in these houses?"

"These! These houses, Lottie, are filled with more life than any other part of the planet!" The Doctor exclaimed, thrilled. "The people who live in them have a home here, and nowhere else. Easy access to the river, and a lovely location! Oh, wonderful things! Which one shall we go to first?"

They were now standing upon the platform which resembled a pier upon the river, ready to swim across to another. Lottie could practically feel the frosty cold radiating from the water, threatening to ice over. "The closest?" Lottie begged.

The Doctor laughed. "Wait!" he announced, spinning around on his heel, with one finger pointing to the sky. "I need my fez!"

Lottie sighed. "Of course you do, but it'll get wet in the river!"

"Good point!" he span back around. "I'll get it later." On that note, he pulled off his tweed jacket, throwing it lazily behind him, and he jumped into the river, the water flying into the air in large bodies, and a loud, harsh, stinging noise filling the air. He fell beneath the surface, allowing only the small liquid droplets and frantic ripples to remain.

Once his head was back up in open wind, his arms and legs were shaking in a frenzy. "Cold! Cold!" he shouted between shivering breaths. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his mouth was open forming an 'O' shape.

This time, Lottie couldn't stop herself from giving in to a fit of laughter, clutching her arms to her stomach, and her knees bent, close to landing on the floor. And before Lottie had time to comprehend what was going on, the Doctor had grasped a hand around her ankle and pulled her into the ice cold water with him.

She gasped in shock, more so from the alarming temperature of the water. The Doctor had gained his revenge, as now he was the one in utter hysterics at Lottie's panic. "I hate you!" Lottie stuttered between shaky breaths and splashes. But Lottie said it with such fondness in her voice, and with a weak giggle which made it obvious that she didn't mean it at all. The fact was, Lottie found great ease and comfort in joking with the Doctor, like she'd known him for years. Because for her, she had. She'd known him her whole life, but now, he barely knew her at all. He knew her name, and the fact that she knew him. That was it. He used to know so much more about her. She told him everything. When she was feeling lonely, or upset, he was always there to talk to.

He would kneel down in front of her so they were eye level, and tell her, "Listen to me. You are one of the most important little girls I have ever met. Never think you're not worth it, because you will always be worth everything to me. Trust me." Then, Lottie would reply:

"Because you're the Doctor?" with a teasing smile.

"Because I am the Doctor," and he would smile before pressing a friendly kiss to her forehead.

So much for always being worth something to him. Now, she was just a weird girl who thought she knew all about him. She was nothing to the Doctor anymore, he didn't even know her. To stop her stomach tying into knots, she pushed the thought away, as far as she could get it. She didn't want to think about that any longer, for all she was worth.

"Come on, then!" The Doctor called out, bringing Lottie back to reality with a jolt. She watched him as with one swift movement, he was off. He swam above the surface, kicking frantically, and forcefully pushing his way through the tide. Obviously Lottie had no choice but to follow. She took a deep breath, breathing in as much as she could and held it, and with eyes squeezed shut, she let her body sink below the surface of the water, her hair falling around her face in a soft cloud until she pushed herself off. Remaining under meant that she could swim faster, as well as being able to avoid the Doctor's inevitable childish splashing.

The Doctor turned his head to see a disfigured weave of colours breaking the blue, swimming quickly next to him, and creating some form of force in the water against him. He knew Lottie was different. He knew there was something that she didn't like about this, and he didn't blame her. She seems to have known him for a long time, and he felt more clueless than ever. It was unnerving, but he had made a promise. He had promised he would figure this all out for her, find out what has caused this, and how to fix it, and The Doctor would never break a promise.


End file.
